"I dream of a hard and brutal mysticism in which the naked self merges with the nonhuman world and somehow survives...Paradox and bedrock."-Edward Abbey

23 April 2013

Feathered Beggars

"I can't afford new tires! I've got to feed the birds!"

That's one of the first mantras we heard upon our arrival here. I go through my memories, straining to find the evidence one way or the other, as to whether the inhabitants of other rural and wild, in-between places put as much loving care into attracting the aviaries. Perhaps it is just a mountain thing.

The juncos, white-crown sparrows, and finches let us know it's spring, regardless of whether or not there's snow on the ground. Actually, snow seems to bring out more of them. Funny. The stellar jays, like the ravens and magpies, are year-round residents. They come to the feeders looking for handouts, which a part of the primate population indulges, going through bags upon bags of seeds.

These feathered omens let us know it will not be long before the hummingbird feeders need to come out, and those trills will echo through the valley. The cats too take note of sudden abundance of prospective food on the wing. Sabina dislikes this circumstance-such a girl thing-but I just shrug. After all, it is all part of the cycle. Like it or don't, birth, death, predator, prey; the food chain is amongst the oldest of orders, and, sometimes we get lucky enough to have a ringside seat.

8 comments:

  1. My father built a huge birdhouse in the back yard. He grew finches, parrakeets, and other types whose names I don't recall and I had a parrakeet for much of my young life. All in the middle of the city in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was beautiful.

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    1. I've though of putting a few birdhouses across the property, but, with the cats, I'd rather birds have at least a sporting chance. The feeders have to do, and they do wonderfully.

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  2. I love birds. I used to have several birdfeeders in the yard when I was younger and lived in the country and I loved just sitting by the window watching them and enjoying their color against the backdrop of snow.

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    1. The juncos have really been by here a lot because of the recent snows. It gives me something to watch whilst prepping a meal.

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  3. From tiny hummingbirds to the gigantic turkey vultures, I have a wonderful aviary outside my windows. I don't feed them as there is plenty to eat up here on the mountain, but I keep the birdbath clean, and full of fresh water. Some days the mourning doves line the fence waiting for their turn at the bath... ;D

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    1. Aside from the occasional red-tailed hawk and owl, mostly, this high up, our predatory bird would be the raven. I've always been a fan of the grosbeaks we sometimes get myself.

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  4. My goodness, just reading "grosbeaks" whipped me back to my childhood in the rockies...wow. I do have a soft spot for the winged, love just lying in bed listening them just as dawn creeps over the hill.

    Thinking of putting up some bat houses this summer....

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    1. Luck. We've had a bat house up since we moved here, but sadly, no occupants. Supposedly, it can take years for them to come, if at all.

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